“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the young man said.

He wasn’t going to confirm anything until he was sure Victoria actually knew about the secret passage. That would be foolish.

Victoria, however, was much more specific to show them she knew what she was talking about.

“So you’re telling me there’s no passage that’s unlocked by touching the stones on the wall, leading to an underground tunnel? The one you had to use because you were sneaking around kissing in the school?”

After being so specific, Victoria was sure they would start talking and stop pretending.

“So it was you who made that noise that night? We thought it was a guard or one of the teachers. Damn it.”

The young man seemed very frustrated, but the girl with him calmed him down. She whispered in his ear, “She knows about us, and if she tells anyone, we’ll be in trouble. Let’s try to keep her as a friend so nothing goes wrong.”

The last thing she wanted was to make Victoria angry and end up being reported to the teachers. That would mean expulsion for both of them.

“Alright, alright,” the young man said, scratching his head, “and what are you doing here at this hour?”

Victoria didn’t want to say she was planning to escape or anything like that. That would be extreme.

“I explored the passage you use and noticed there are some other locked doors. I wanted to check them out.”

She wasn’t lying. The only thing she left out was that she was hoping one of the doors led outside the school.

The couple was surprised. The man smiled, “So you want to explore the locked doors? That would be great if you had the key, like this one I have here.”

He then pulled an old key from his pocket. Victoria was surprised. Did the young man really have the key to those doors?

It was hard to know without testing the key, but if that was the case, Victoria would have to get the key from him somehow.

“My girlfriend and I want to explore that place too. How about we go together? It might be safer that way. I’m sure you’ll keep this a secret, or all three of us will be expelled.”

The opportunity was too good, and Victoria didn’t want to miss it.

“Sure, why not? Who knows, we might find something useful or interesting. Are you going now?”

“Yes, we are. We don’t want to waste time, and don’t bother with introductions—I don’t even want to know your name. It’s better if we keep our identities a secret.”

Victoria didn’t mind that. Unlike them, she was about to leave the school—if she found an exit—so it didn’t matter much whether she knew their names or not.

What she really wanted was to get out of that place to do the things William had asked, as it would make her stronger.

Once everyone was decided on going on this adventure, the couple went first, opening the passage by touching the stones in the correct order.

The trio descended the stairs and soon found themselves in the tunnel they had been in not long ago. That couple had clearly used the tunnel many times before.

“And why haven’t you explored the other doors, considering you have the keys?” Victoria asked.

“Ah, we’ve always been busy, you know, with lots of things to do,” the man said.

But his girlfriend was more honest.

“That’s a lie. We were scared, especially him. Now that we’ve mustered some courage, and with you joining us, it gave us the push we needed.”

“Stop, don’t go blabbing about that.”

The man was embarrassed. William found the whole scene hilarious. He wished he could say something to tease the guy, but it was impossible since he was just a sword at the moment.

Anyway, they walked a bit through the dark, spiderweb-filled tunnel, with small insects and rats scurrying around their feet.

When the first door appeared, the young man with the key used it, and sure enough, the door opened.

Until that moment, Victoria wasn’t sure if he was telling the truth, but it seemed he was, which was great. The couple went in first, and Victoria followed closely behind.

The first room was bizarre enough. It looked like a laboratory with strange things inside. There were symbols, pieces of creatures in tubes, and even organs.

Victoria and the other two had no idea what it was, but William had a good idea. It looked a lot like the things he had seen in Jonas’s mansion!

Even the symbols were similar, and he noticed a statue of some deity that was basically the same as the one he had seen in Jonas’s mansion!

He was wondering many things.

‘Is it the same deity? If so, this cult he’s part of has spread to many parts of the continent…’

They didn’t stay in that laboratory for long for a very good reason: it didn’t seem abandoned.

It was as if someone was using the place frequently, which left the couple terrified.

They started thinking about all the times they had gone down there to use the tunnel and passed by that door.

Had whoever was using the laboratory already seen them? Had they just been lucky that nothing had happened? Would that luck hold forever?

They were already thinking about leaving after seeing that.

“I’m getting out of here,” the man said. “It’s not worth staying here and risking running into some lunatic. You should do the same.”

His girlfriend agreed. They were about to leave when Victoria asked for the key.

“At least give me the key so I can explore the rest. I’ll return it to you later.”

The young man tossed the key to Victoria. She caught it before it hit the ground. He wasn’t in the mood to argue with her about it. In his mind, it was better to just hand it over and be done with it.

With the key in hand, Victoria could now explore on her own.

“What do you think that was?” she asked.

William wanted to tell her but decided to keep it a secret for now.

“No idea, but they weren’t wrong when they said the place wasn’t abandoned. Let’s be careful from now on.”

The tension had increased considerably. Before, Victoria was sure she would be alone in those tunnels, but it seemed that wasn’t the case.

She held Asura in her hands, ready to fight at any moment. She moved forward, heading toward the next locked door since the first one only led to the laboratory.

It didn’t take long for her to find another door. She opened it the same way as before. The key worked again. It was a master key.

After opening it, she saw another corridor leading forward and upward. This gave her hope that it might lead to an exit.

She continued walking, slowly and quietly to avoid drawing attention from anyone who might be there.

Along the way, she didn’t see any more doors. It was just a corridor that went forward and slightly upward.

Victoria was apprehensive, unsure of what to expect.

“If someone shows up here, there’s nowhere to hide. This just goes straight,” she said.

The sense of danger was overwhelming. The worst part was knowing there were no places to hide if the worst happened.

And it wasn’t just her feeling that way. William needed nothing to happen to her. He needed her to get stronger to rescue him.

If someone killed her and took Asura, his plan would be ruined. That was the last thing he wanted.

After a long time, they began to see a light. Victoria felt a bit excited.

Considering the entire place was dark, maybe that light meant it was the exit to the outside world, and that’s what she wanted.

The last few minutes until she reached the light were tense. Victoria’s heart was pounding.

She couldn’t see the end of the tunnel. It was as if the light was blinding her, preventing her from seeing beyond.

As soon as she passed through the light, Victoria was shocked. What she found was an open space with a very high ceiling.

Several wooden benches, and in the middle, an altar. But the worst part wasn’t the place itself—that was the least of it.

The worst part was the fact that there were people there! These people were dressed in black cloaks, and all of them were looking at the person speaking at the altar.

They had arrived at a church—a macabre church.

As soon as Victoria appeared, all eyes turned to her. She didn’t know what to do.

“Should I flee? What should I do?”

She asked William for advice, but even him didn’t know. What exactly was the place they were seeing? It was really, really macabre.

The person speaking on the altar stared at Victoria, and then said something she would never forget.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep